Fostering
It's important that you feel supported and confident in your role as a foster carer. We want to make sure that foster placements work, for you and the child, so we'll offer you as much help and advice as you need. You'll have regular opportunities to attend training to make sure you have the skills and knowledge required to meet a child's needs.
Training
Before you can be approved as a foster carer you'll need to attend a preparation for fostering course. If you're a couple you'll both need to attend.
All new foster carers also have to complete a national standard level of training within 18 months of taking on the role. It's important to make sure that you're competent and safe in your new role and our training helps to you develop the skills and knowledge that you'll need to support the child you'll be caring for. If you've got some prior experience of working with children and young people we'll take this into account as evidence towards meeting the standard. You can read more about the training, support and development standards for foster care on the GOV.UK website.
When you're fostering we'll continue to offer you training, including the opportunity to take NVQ qualifications as part of our Payment for Skills scheme. For each level you achieve you'll receive an increased allowance. Please refer to our information about how much you'll get paid for fostering for details.
Your fostering social worker will help you to identify the courses that you need to attend. We'll also work with you on a personal development plan and a training profile.
Foster carer training program
Find out more about some of the courses and resources offered to you as a foster carer:
- a list of courses available on POD
- a list of courses from Kate Cairns e-learning
- POD e-learning
- access to e-learning from the Rees Centre
- access to Research in Practice
If you are a newly approved foster carer, then you will need to complete the TSDS (Training Standards and Development Workbook) in your first year of approval.
Courses
There are some specific courses which run only for foster carers.
- Paediatric First Aid – this is a 3-day course that is taught and certificated and lasts for 3 years. There is a course set up specifically for foster carers.
- Solihull Training Course. This course is a 10-week programme, with two cohorts running twice a year, starting in January and in September. The course is delivered by the Andrew French and Zoe Smith from the fostering team, in conjunction with Ian England and Sarah Hudson from the training and development section.
- FLAG (Fostering Lasting Attachments Group) lead by Ellis Mosely, a clinical psychologist based at CAMHS with Louise Fisher with the fostering team.
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children’s and Young People’s Workforce: Social Care Pathway (England). This course is available for foster carers two years after approval. It will start in April, with the intention of completing the Diploma in the following year. Completion of the Diploma should see progression to Skills Based Level 3 at the start of the following financial year.
Course |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Raising Awareness of the Safeguarding Adult Process |
Wednesday 1 April |
10am to 12pm |
Room 1, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Neglect |
Thursday 2 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Introduction to Safeguarding Children |
Friday 3 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Children from Sex Offenders who use the Internet |
Friday 3 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Wednesday 8 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Attachment Theory |
Friday 17 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Drugs Awareness |
Monday 20 April |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Understanding Bullying and Contextual Safeguarding |
Monday 20 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Tuesday 21 April |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Wednesday 22 April |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children – County Lines |
Friday 24 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
More Than Just Attention Seeking: Responding to Self-Harm in Young People – A Brief Insight for Front-Line Practitioners |
Monday 27 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working with Resistant Adults and Families |
Wednesday 29 April |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Relationships and Sex Education |
Thursday 30 April |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Westgate Plaza Boardroom |
Safeguarding in the Digital World |
Monday 4 May |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Look, Say, Sing, Play. Helping Parents Understand Their Role in Developing Their Baby’s Brain |
Tuesday 5 May |
12:30 – 14:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Against Extremism – Prevent Awareness |
Thursday 7 May |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Harm |
Tuesday 12 May |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Recognizing and Responding to Sexually Harmful Behaviour |
Wednesday 13 May |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Effectively Engaging with Families |
Thursday 14 May |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Alcohol Misuse Awareness |
Friday 15 May |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Compromised Parenting – The Effects of the Toxic Trio |
Tuesday 19 May |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Designated Safeguarding Lead Training |
Wednesday 20 May |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Protection Conferences and Core Groups |
Thursday 21 May |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Friday 22 May |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Wednesday 3 June |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Dealing with Disclosures |
Thursday 4 June |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery |
Friday 5 June |
9:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Relationships and Sex Education |
Tuesday 9 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Men |
Wednesday 10 June |
Wed 10 June 09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Introduction to Safeguarding Children |
Thursday 11 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Fabricated and Induced Illness |
Friday 12 June |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Teenage Sexual Identity |
Monday 15 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Neglect |
Tuesday 16 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Wednesday 17 Jube |
13:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children |
Thursday 18 June |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Strength Based Approach in Children’s Services |
Tuesday 23 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 1, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working with Parents with Mental Health Issues and Safeguarding. |
Wednesday 24 June |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Awareness Raising of Female Genital Mutilation |
Thursday 25 June |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Friday 26 June |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children – County Lines |
Thursday 2 July |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Friday 3 July |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Spice Awareness |
Monday 6 July |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Understanding and Dealing with Abusers who are in Positions of Trust: Learning the Lessons from the Jimmy Savile Investigations |
Tuesday 7 July |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Harm |
Wednesday 8 July |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Understanding Bullying and Contextual Safeguarding |
Thursday 9 July |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding in the Digital World |
Tuesday 14 July |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Thursday 16 July |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Raising Awareness of the Safeguarding Adult Process |
Thursday 3 September |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Look, Say, Sing, Play. Helping Parents Understand Their Role in Developing Their Baby’s Brain |
Friday 4 September |
12:30 – 14:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Awareness Raising of Female Genital Mutilation |
Wednesday 9 September |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery |
Thursday 10 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Monday 14 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
More Than Just Attention Seeking: Responding to Self-Harm in Young People – A Brief Insight for Front-Line Practitioners |
Tuesday 15 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Protection Conferences and Core Groups |
Wednesday 16 September |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Alcohol Misuse Awareness |
Thursday 17 September |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Introduction to Safeguarding Children |
Friday 18 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Relationships and Sex Education |
Monday 21 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Tuesday 22 September |
9:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children |
Thursday 24 September |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Friday 25 September |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Sexual Exploitation |
Tuesday 29 September |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Neglect |
Wednesday 30 September |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Effectively Engaging with Families |
Friday 2 October |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Harm |
Tuesday 6 October |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Against Extremism – Prevent Awareness |
Wednesday 7 October |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 1, Barnsley Town Hall |
Fabricated and Induced Illness |
Friday 9 October |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children – County Lines |
Tuesday 13 October |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Children Through Safer Recruitment |
Wednesday 14 October |
9:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Children from Sex Offenders who use the Internet |
Thursday 15 October |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 12, Barnsley Town Hall |
Spice Awareness |
Friday 16 October |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Dealing with Disclosures |
Tuesday 20 October |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Sexual Identity and Working with Transgender Issues |
Wednesday 21 October |
9:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working with Resistant Adults and Families |
Thursday 22 October |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Contextual Safeguarding |
Friday 23 October |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding in the Digital World |
Wednesday 4 November |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Recognizing and Responding to Signs of Abuse and The Role of the Paediatrician Explained |
Friday 6 November |
12:30 – 14:00 |
The Boardroom, Gateway Plaza |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Wednesday 11 November |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Men |
Thursday 12 November |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Introduction to Safeguarding Children |
Tuesday 17 November |
9.30am to 12.30pm |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Recognizing and Responding to Sexually Harmful Behaviour |
Wednesday 18 November |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Compromised Parenting – The Effects of the Toxic Trio |
Thursday 19 November |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Understanding Bullying and Contextual Safeguarding |
Monday 23 November |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working with Parents with Mental Health Issues and Safeguarding |
Tuesday 24 November |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Thursday 26 November |
13:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Look, Say, Sing, Play. Helping Parents Understand Their Role in Developing Their Baby’s Brain |
Tuesday 1 December |
12:30 – 14:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery |
Wednesday 2 December |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 1, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Neglect |
Thursday 3 December |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Drugs Awareness |
Friday 4 December |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Teenage Sexual Identity |
Monday 7 December |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Protection Conferences and Core Groups |
Tuesday 8 December |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Hidden Harm |
Thursday 10 December |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Attachment Theory |
Friday 11 December |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Criminal Exploitation of Children |
Tuesday 15 December |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Child Sexual Exploitation |
Thursday 7 January |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People |
Tuesday 12 January |
09:30 – 16:30 |
Reception Room Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Wednesday 13 January |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
More Than Just Attention Seeking: Responding to Self-Harm in Young People – A Brief Insight for Front-Line Practitioners |
Thursday 14 January |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall |
Raising Awareness of the Safeguarding Adult Process |
Tuesday 19 January |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Relationships and Sex Education |
Wednesday 20 January |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Awareness Raising of Female Genital Mutilation |
Thursday 21 January |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Sexual Identity and Working with Transgender Issues |
Monday 1 February |
09:30 – 12:30 |
Room 11, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Against Extremism – Prevent Awareness |
Tuesday 2 February |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Safeguarding Children Through Safer Recruitment |
Friday 11 February |
9:30 – 12:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Dealing with Disclosures |
Wednesday 10 February |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Pregnancy and Mental Health Before and After the Baby |
Thursday 11 March |
13:30 – 16:30 |
Room 2, Barnsley Town Hall |
Kate Cairns eLearning
- Adolescence
- Assessing and managing risk
- Attachment and brain development
- Behaviour and the physical environment
- Behaviour and the physical environment: Adapting the physical environment to promote recovery from trauma
- Brain development and positive parenting
- Building individual and community resilience
- Building resilience
- Child-centred assessment
- Child development
- Child protection
- Child sexual exploitation: Protecting children and young people from harm
- Children and young people who misuse substances
- Children’s rights
- Communicating with children and young people
- Confidentiality and record keeping
- Contact in foster care
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorders: A relationship-based approach to prevention and recovery
- Emotion coaching
- Emotion coaching: A systemic, relational approach to behaviour
- Equality and diversity
- Equality and diversity in professional practice
- Five to thrive for life: Adolescence
- Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Systemic approaches to improving life chances for children and young people
- Foetal exposure to alcohol
- Impulsive behaviour
- Introduction to attachment and brain development
- Introduction to child development
- Introduction to child protection
- Introduction to communicating with children and young people
- Introduction to promoting secure attachment: Brain development and positive parenting
- Introduction to understanding trauma
- Making safe connections – the digital revolution, neuroscience and human attachment needs
- Maladaptive behaviours: Promoting recovery for children who harm themselves
- Men in children’s services
- Multi-disciplinary working
- Narrative work
- Narrative work: The development of a positive sense of self
- Parental mental health issues
- Professional development
- Safer caring
- Secondary trauma
- Secondary trauma and community resilience
- Self-harming behaviours
- Self-injuring and self-sabotaging behaviours: A relationship-based approach to prevention and recovery
- Sexualised behaviour: Issues in foster care
- Sexualised behaviour: Managing risk, promoting recovery
- Supervising foster care
- Teamwork
- The role of the foster carer
- Transitions and vulnerability
- Understanding trauma
- Vulnerability, trauma and recovery
KCA training - eLearning
Courses can be viewed without an account
Find out more about KTA training courses, on their website and select the e-learning tab.
Foster carers-application process
- Inform your supervising social worker of the course you wish to undertake.
- Applications must be requested via the supervising social worker to ensure that only the agreed/appropriate training is being allocated or undertaken.
- Only one eLearning module per household can be allocated currently.
- When the application is processed a system-generated email will be sent from KCA Training with details of the course.
- There is a log in option at the top right side of the KCA Training webpages. Forgotten passwords can be reset by the foster carer themselves.
- Username is the foster carer’s email address.
POD learning
- Assertive communication
- Basic autism awareness
- Child sexual exploitation
- Down’s syndrome awareness
- Drug and alcohol awareness
- Emotional intelligence
- Epilepsy awareness
- Female genital mutilation
- Fire Safety
- Food safety awareness
- Hate and mate crime
- Modern slavery and human trafficking
- Nutritional awareness
- Prevent
- Self-harm
- Smoking awareness
- Spelling, grammar and punctuation
- Stress management
- Toothbrushing club
- Trans Awareness
RiP (Research in Practice) learning
We take learning and development very seriously, for our staff and our foster carers, and to sure that our offer to you includes access to a wide variety of flexible learning opportunities. The support you give children and young people is vital in their lives and we want you to feel you are supported too and have access to high-quality information.
To help us do this we continue to be partners of Research in Practice (RiP) who have over 20-years of experience in developing evidence-informed resources and learning opportunities to support people working with children and young people. Topics cover subjects like attachment, child development, online abuse, mental health, sexual abuse and exploitation. Information is provided as briefings, practical tools, webinars and e-learning modules.
Find out more about Rip resources and learning.
Courses include
- Children experiencing domestic abuse
- Conduct disorder
- Neglect
- Play in outdoor spaces
- Safeguarding in the 21st century
- Under the influence
RiP accounts for Foster Carers
RiP have created accounts for our foster carers and you should have received an email notifying you of your login and password. If you have lost, or forgotten, your details you can get a reminder or reset your Rip password.
The resources are accessible 24/7 so are ideal to fit around a busy life. They are suitable for group work or for individual self-directed learning. Do include learning activities which involve the RiP resources in your record of development it is as important as any face-to-face classroom-based training you do.
If you aren’t sure if you are registered for an account you can email Suzannah Rockett or call (01226) 775639.